Real Estate

While property prices in destinations like Europe and North America have been deeply affected by the global financial crisis, luxury real estate in this renowned South
American getaway remains exceptionally strong.

Sellers of property have called the shots for years on the Manhattan 22.7 square mile island that is the financial capital of the United States. But now buyers are having their day, according to the first-quarter reports due from major real estate brokerages on Thursday.

The prize of farmland in Paraguay has fallen significantly because of insecurity and the slide in international prices for oil seeds, mainly soybeans, according to a report from the head of the Agronomy Department at the University of Asunción, Ricardo Garay.

Monaco has the most expensive prime property in the world, costing an average of 55.000 Euros per square metre in 2008 for the best properties. But the prices for prime properties throughout the world are coming under pressure from the credit crunch, according to the latest Knight Frank Prime International Residential Index.

Following five years of strong growth the construction industry in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires has begun a new cycle. In 2008 the total number of construction permits authorized by local authorities reached 2.5 million square metres which represents a contraction of 20.3% compared to 2007, and anticipates a decline in activity for this year, according to a report from the local consultants Real Estate Report.